


Innocent yet charged

by Ozpin_Lover_MP



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Court, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-19 09:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17599082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ozpin_Lover_MP/pseuds/Ozpin_Lover_MP
Summary: As a fourteen-year-old, Bartholomew Oobleck accidentally kills someone. Now his past comes back to haunt him and he must face a murder trial.Lots of angst and drama ensues. Don't worry- Oobleck isn't evil or anything - I tried to keep his character as close to what it is in the show.TW: Mentioned rape (nothing graphic though), some swearing.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Mentioned rape (nothing graphic though), some swearing.
> 
> Big thank you to Junebug/Jutebug for paying attention in all her law classes, and patiently answering all my questions about court! This would not have been possible without her!

“You’re the best, Barty,” Anya said shoving Bartholomew lightly on the shoulder. Both of them were sitting on his bed, working on homework. 

“I’m really not,” Bartholomew replied quietly. 

“Yeah, well, at least you let me copy your homework, unlike some people,” Anya glared at Ozpin, who was lying on his own bed, nose stuck in a book. 

Ozpin momentarily looked up. “How will you learn if you always copy other people’s work?” 

“By showing up to class. That’s more than can be said for some people,” Anya said, just as Veronica walked into the room. 

“I’ll have you know I’ve never failed a test, no matter how many classes I miss,” Veronica huffed, sitting down on Anya’s bed. 

“Show off,” Anya grumbled, “How’d we get stuck with two know it alls?” 

Bartholomew shrugged. 

“So, why’d you want to talk to all of us?” Veronica asked. 

“Guys… there’s something I need to tell you,” Bartholomew stated, taking off his glasses and cleaning them. 

“Is something wrong?” Ozpin asked, sitting up on the end of his bed. 

Bartholomew shook his head. “Not exactly. I mean it is wrong… I mean you guys are my team-mates, and I think you should know.” He put his glasses back on. “I’m not… I’ve done some bad stuff,” 

“It’s okay, we know you grew up in a rough area, and about all the gang stuff,” Veronica supplied. 

Bartholomew sighed. “Yes, it’s just… I got a letter from Theo, my brother, about some stuff… It’s probably nothing. Just the usual gangs stirring up trouble. But if I did end up in prison… or… on death row...” 

“Is that likely?” Ozpin asked. 

Bartholomew continued to stare at his textbook. The picture of the queen of Vale had a mouse in the corner, he realised. “Only if someone sells me out. There’s no evidence. It’s just… I did kill someone,” 

There was a pause. 

“WHAT?” Anya exclaimed, looking shocked. 

“It was three years ago.” Bartholomew’ eyes started to prick. He had to tell them. They had to understand that he was a horrible person. He needed to tell them what he had done. At least for his own peace of mind. 

…  
 _  
He was running. Thud- thud- thud- thud, went the footsteps behind him. Even though the pouring rain, Oobleck could hear them as clearly as his own ragged breaths and beating heart._

_Dammit, Umber was catching up! Oobleck couldn’t let him catch him! Not again! Not after what had happened- Oobleck shook his head. He was not thinking about that. He was concentrating on getting away._

_He put on a burst of speed, before turning a corner._

_Shit! It was a dead end! He was going to have to fight. Oobleck wouldn’t let Umber take him. Not this time. Umber may be taller, older and stronger but he wasn’t nearly as fast as Oobleck. So at least he had that going for him._

_Umber also rounded the corner. Oobleck dived to the left and hit an invisible wall. Damm! He hated Umber’s semblance!_

_“I’m gonna kill you brat, once I’m done with you!” Umber bellowed._

_Oobleck felt himself start to shake. It must be the cold, he reasoned. Stupid weather._

_Umber lunged at him, and Oobleck dodged, with only an inch to spare. Could he call Theo? No, he would never have time to get his phone out and dial a number, even if Theo did pick up._

_Umber lunged again, and this time he punched Oobleck squarely in the stomach. Oobleck felt his aura fall as he fell against a wall._

_Umber took a giant hunting knife out of its sheath on his back._

_Okay, they were moving onto weapons now. Oobleck shakily grabbed his two small knives from his belt. It was going to be okay, he told himself. He could win this._

_As Umber made a grab for Oobleck, Oobleck rolled over, pushed himself up, and came up to the side of Umber. He wasted no time in kicking Umber with all his might._

_Umber barely stumbled, although his aura did go down. Okay. They were even. Oobleck was going to win. He had to win. He couldn’t let Umber catch him again. He couldn’t! He had to get away. There was no other acceptable outcome._

_Later, Theo will talk with Umber’s gang leader, Oobleck told himself. Umber wasn’t even supposed to be here, on their turf. With any luck, Umber would get into trouble and Oobleck would never have to lay eyes on him again._

_Yes, that was a good plan. Escape, and then talk to Theo. The others would back him up. The way Arabelle always looked at Umber made her feelings towards him perfectly clear. In fact, Oobleck was a little worried that Umber had done something to Arabelle, with all the death glares she gave him. What if Umber had also… no, not thinking about that now. Oobleck shook his head slightly. He needed to concentrate._

_He dodged another blow from Umber. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be!_

_There - an opening. Oobleck darted forward, wishing he still had enough aura to use his semblance. At least Umber was also out of aura -_

_Oobleck slammed to a halt, grabbing at his neck. Someone had got the back of his shirt collar and lifted him off the ground._

_Umber turned him around to face him. Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! Not again! This couldn’t be happening again!_

_Oobleck felt tears well up in his eyes. Great. Just great. Now Umber was going to have the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Sometimes he really hated being sentimental. Though whether this was sentimentality or panic, Oobleck couldn’t tell._

_Umber lifted him up higher, and Oobleck felt his shirt slip. Great. He had had to choose today of all days to wear his brother's shirt, that was slightly too big for him. The neck hole slipped over his head, and suddenly Oobleck couldn’t see! He couldn’t see! He flailed about desperately. He had to get away, he had to get away, he had to get away!_

_He felt one of his knives catch on something, and he pulled at it desperately. He couldn’t lose his knives! They were his only form of defence!_

_Suddenly, Umber dropped him, and Oobleck fell to the ground. He quickly pulled his shirt back over his head._

_He screamed._

_Umber was lying in front of him, blood everywhere. He was completely still._

_Dropping his knives and covering his mouth with one hand, Oobleck scrambled up. There was blood all over the front of him too. And on his knives._

_Oobleck gently nudged Umber with his foot. There was no reaction. Shit. Umber looked dead._

_That’s when it hit Oobleck. He had killed him. He had killed Umber. He clamped his hands over his mouth to stop himself screaming again, or throwing up. Yeah, he hated Umber more than the Grimm themselves, but he didn’t want to kill him. Oobleck didn’t want to kill anyone. And he had. He had taken an actual human life. He was a murderer._

_Umber was dead._

_Oobleck had actually killed him._

_Oobleck felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyes flooded with tears. He hadn’t meant to kill him! Umber was the definition of horrible… but Oobleck believed that everyone had the right to live! Even evil people! And he had just ended someone’s life._

_How had this happened? How could he have killed someone? He was just trying to escape! What about Umber’s friends and family? Oobleck wasn’t sure if Umber had any friends, but surely someone must care about him? They were going to be devastated. And it was all Ooblecks fault._

_Oobleck sank to the floor. He was a monster. Only aged fourteen, and he had already taken a human life. He was as bad as the Grimm._

__  
…

“What happened after that?” Anya asked. 

“I called Theo. He called everyone else in our gang, and well… we threw the body over the wall, to the Grimm. Then we burnt the shirt I had been wearing and cleaned the whole scene. Got rid of all of the evidence. Umber was eventually announced as missing, but everyone played dumb,” Bartholomew explained, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. 

Suddenly, Anya hugged him. “That’s awful,” she whispered. “And most definitely not your fault,” 

“But it was,” Bartholomew argued, choking up, “it was all my fault!” 

Veronica got up and sat next to him, gesturing for Ozpin to join them as well. They both joined in the hug. 

“By the sound of it, there wasn’t anything else you could have done,” Ozpin ventured. 

“And I’m fairly sure that that doesn’t count as murder,” Anya added, “Only manslaughter. You wouldn’t be killed for it,”


	2. Court

Bartholomew Oobleck was teaching a fairly normal class that day. The battle of Vacuo, that happened two-hundred and twenty years ago. It was quite an interesting battle in fact, with multiple factors at play. The weather was much warmer that year, for example, giving both sides a large disadvantage. 

However, it was a first-year class, and he had taught it many times before. At this point, he knew it off by heart, not even having to look at the textbook or slides. Still, he tried to make it interesting for his students, keeping a fast pace (literally and figuratively), and asking questions to try and keep some class discussion alive. It was a shame that these students really weren’t all that passionate about history. And those that were, or had the potential to be, were much too shy to speak up in class. 

He was not expecting someone to knock on the door, only halfway through the lesson. He was even less expecting that someone to be a grim-faced Veronica. She occasionally interrupted his lessons, but never without good reason. 

It was what she said next though that really threw him off guard. “Bart, you need to come with me. Right now.” She looked around the room. “You guys can take the rest of this period off,” 

Bartholomew was about to protest, but… the way she said his name. She never called him “Bart” in front of students. It was always either “professor Oobleck,” “doctor Oobleck, “ or even just plain “Oobleck”. Something must be very, very wrong. 

Veronica practically dragged Bartholomew out of the room. Then she opened the door to the nearest office, that happened to be Glynda’s, and gestured for him to come inside. 

“What is wrong?” Bartholomew asked immediately. 

He was absolutely definitely not expecting her to hug him. He gently hugged her back. 

“Has something happened to Ozpin?” he asked quietly. 

Veronica shook her head. “It’s the police, Bart. They… Someone’s pressing murder charges. Against you,” 

Bartholomew stilled. “Umber?” he asked quietly. 

Veronica nodded. “I’ve been sent to take you to the police. But if you want to run, I’ll give you a headstart, and look the other way,” 

“I think it’s a bit late for that,” Bartholomew mumbled, “Besides, I always said that if this day came, I would face it with my face held high,” 

Veronica pulled away. “Right,” she gave him a weak smile, rubbing her eyes on her sleeve. 

Bartholomew bit his lip. He hated seeing his friends cry. 

Just then there was a quiet knock on the door, and Ozpin came in. 

“Bart,” he said, putting a hand on Bartholomew’s shoulder. Then he hugged Bartholomew. That’s when Bartholomew realised in just how bad of a situation he was in. Ozpin didn’t just hug people. “It’s been a pleasure working with you,” 

“I…” Bartholomew found his voice wavering. “Likewise. Is it… I’m probably going to get convicted, aren’t I?” 

“Apparently they have evidence,” Veronica said, as Ozpin pulled away. “That doesn’t mean we won’t do our best to help you though,” 

“I know some people, I can get you a good lawyer,” Ozpin added. 

Veronica’s phone buzzed. “We… we have to go,” she said. 

Bartholomew bit his lip. “If this is… this could be goodbye… Can I say goodbye to Port as well? We are good friends,” 

Veronica nodded. “I’ll just go get him. You two should start walking towards the front…” 

…

“And what is your reason for pulling me out of my lesson?” Port grumbled as he walked along beside Veronica. They quickly caught up with Bartholomew and Ozpin. 

“I wanted to say goodbye, old friend,” Bartholomew told him. 

“What? Where are you going?” Port asked. 

Bartholomew looked towards the ceiling and blinked a couple of times. “I’m being arrested. I’ve been charged with… murder,” he said quietly. 

“What?” Port asked. “You’ve been framed for murder?” 

Bartholomew didn’t meet his eyes. “Not exactly… There is a rather large probability that I will be executed. So I wanted to say goodbye. Just in case,” 

“What?” Port exclaimed again, dumbfounded. 

Bartholomew held out his hand. Port shook it. 

Then Bartholomew walked away, Veronica and Ozpin in toe. Port watched them leave, very, very confused. 

“If… When this all goes wrong, can you explain to Port what actually happened? I’d rather he knew the truth…” Bartholomew asked his two friends. 

Veronica and Ozpin nodded. 

“There’s still hope though,” Veronica put in. “We don’t know what their evidence is yet. It could be something unreliable. We haven’t even had the preliminary trial,” 

Bartholomew hummed and looked away. 

Ozpin put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ready?” 

Bartholomew nodded. Then, for what might be his last time as a free man, he walked out into the sunlight. 

…

The courtroom was horrible, Bartholomew decided. Who on earth decided on making the walls an icky mid-brown colour? He supposed they were supposed to look like wood, but it was honestly easy to tell that it was just cheap nasty wallpaper. Even from as far away from the walls as he was, it looked awful.

The room should have felt light and airy, but the combination of the awful wallpaper and dull lighting made it seem almost claustrophobic. Or maybe that was just the tension in the air. 

In some ways, the room reminded him of an old classroom. Bright enough to read, but dim enough to make you want to sleep. Not that Bartholomew thought he would fall asleep. He was much too nervous for that. He could practically feel the dread in his stomach, and he was shaking slightly from all the adrenaline in his veins. 

He took a deep breath. Okay. Who else was in the room? There was a lawyer beside him - his name was Reeds? - whom Bartholomew had had a brief conversation with. He was an old friend of Ozpin’s apparently, and a very good lawyer. Probably. They had only had one conversation, which struck Bartholomew as odd. But maybe that was the way it always was? Bartholomew didn’t know enough about law to be able to tell. 

Sure, he could tell you when the constitution was written or when the first recorded trials had taken place. That didn’t mean he knew anything about court proceedings. He was a historian, not a lawyer. 

In fact, right now he was really wishing that Vale and Atlas didn’t share a constitution. The Atlasian constitution allowed the death penalty, so Vale did as well. 

Still, he hadn’t lost the trial yet. It might not come to that. 

Only, the prosecution had evidence. He knew they did. 

On the other side of the room was another lawyer. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and wore what looked like a brand new suit. Although it would be easy to hate him, Bartholomew knew that the prosecutor was just doing his job. He didn’t hold that against him. Even if he did look like an arrogant bit- person. 

Next to him was another tall chap, considerably less well dressed. Although he was wearing a long sleeve shirt (that didn’t look ironed), Bartholomew could see the hint of tattoos on his wrists. He also had an earring, just peeking out below his unkempt brown hair. Bartholomew felt his breath hitch. He knew who that was; Coal. The leader of Umber’s former gang. 

In fact, when Bartholomew twisted around slightly to look, his saw several of Umber’s former gang members. He allowed himself to internally swear. That wasn’t good. 

Amongst them, Bartholomew caught a flash of blond. No. It couldn’t be. Taupe wouldn’t have sold him out? Not after everything Bartholomew had done for him? Not after making him the next leader? Though, Bartholomew considered, there wasn’t really anyone left to lead. Theo was dead, he had left, Arabelle and Cyan had set up their own cafe, Zam was off doing who knows what… It would be just Taupe. 

Bartholomew knew that Ozpin and Veronica were sitting behind him, towards the back somewhere, offering silent support. He wondered if they were his only friends in this room. It wasn’t a nice thought. 

Although didn’t his lawyer say something about Arabelle and Cyan being witnesses? That would mean that they were here too. Somewhere. Ugh, we wished he could turn around and look. 

In fact, if Arabelle and Cyan were here it would be nice to catch up with them. Or maybe not; this wasn’t really the right time or place. 

There was also a short lady, with curly blond hair and a notebook sitting on the left. Maybe she was a friend? Bartholomew thought that he recognised her. Wait, no, she was a reporter. He recognised her from TV. Great. Just great. Now the whole world was going to think that he was a murderer. 

And then, of course, there was the Jury; just a lot of people Bartholomew didn’t know. He hoped they were in a compassionate mood. 

Finally, the judge siddled into the front. Any chatter that had been going on went quiet. 

The hearing began. 

Bartholomew tried not to fidget. He took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. 

What could the ‘evidence’ possibly be? Presumably, his lawyer knew, and had come up with a suitable defence… Bartholomew was curious, in an ‘I want to know but I really don’t’ kind of way. Umber’s body had been thrown over the wall. His knives were in his office. What evidence could they have possibly found? Surely they couldn’t convict him on witness’ statements alone? Besides, no one had actually seen him kill Umber! 

And yet, Coal was smirking. He looked confident and silently pleased with himself. What the hell was this all about? They had never pressed charges before! Why wait twenty years? This was all so confusing!

“We will start with motive,” the prosecution stated. 

No, surely not. Bartholomew felt the colour drain from his face. No one knew, no one knew about that. He had never told anyone what Umber did to him. It was his worst memory, hands down, and he did his best to bury and it and forget. Surely they didn’t know. And if they did, surely they wouldn’t use that against him? If they did, there would be no question of motive, they would say that Bartholomew wanted revenge. 

He felt his breath hitch. No, it was okay, they were probably going to make up something stupid. There was no way they could know about that. 

It was going to be fine. 

No one knew. There was no way anyone could know. 

Coal was called up as a witness. Surely Umber didn’t boast to Coal about what he had done. He wasn’t that bigheaded, was he? Surely, surely, Coal didn’t know? Oobleck sent a silent to prayer to any gods that might be listening. Surely Coal didn’t know _that._

“Although Umber was a close friend to many of us, there is no denying he made some mistakes,” Coal started. 

“Did Umber ever give Oobleck a reason to hate him?” the lawyer asked. 

Coal nodded. “Umber… Umber said that he raped Oobleck,” 

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! No one, no one was supposed to know that! He’d never told anyone! No one knew! No one could know! 

It seemed to Bartholomew like everyone was looking at him. He tried to remain impassive. To keep an absolutely straight face. But his eyes were tearing up. How could Coal just say that to the whole court? 

This could not be happening. 

Everyone knew. 

Bartholomew hadn’t even let himself think the word _rape_ for years. It was an atrocity of his past, and he just wanted to forget it. And he didn’t want anyone to know. 

Umber continued, but Bartholomew barely listened. His lawyer slid him a box of tissues across the table. Bartholomew didn’t take one. He was not going to cry in court. He didn’t care if his worst secret had just been revealed to the world. He was not going to be that person. 

The judge looked at him. Oh. They were asking him if it was true. What should he say? Should he deny it? No, they wouldn’t believe him. In any case, he was pretty sure that everyone could tell he was upset by what they had said. He was never very good at hiding his emotions. And besides, he had always believed in the truth. Lying hurt, and got people hurt. He was going to have to tell the truth. 

He momentarily stood up, trying not to shake. “It’s true,” he said. He sat down again, staring at the desk. He would not look up. He didn’t want to see people’s pitying faces. If they did pity him. They probably believed he had murdered Umber in revenge after all. 

Why? Why did Coal have to do that? Why tell everyone? 

No one knew. Oobleck had never had the courage to tell anyone. He had seen people's reactions when others talked about it. And it had been fine. He’d buried the memory, along with the rest of his past. He didn’t need to ever think about it again. 

But now… But now… 

He could hear the scratching of a pencil. The reporter knew. This wasn’t fair! By tomorrow morning everyone would know. Even if he did get out of this trial scott-free then there would be repercussions. 

He didn’t want people to talk behind his back, to constantly give him pitying looks. It happened when he was fourteen for goodness sake! He was over it! And it wasn’t anybody’s business except his own. 

He wondered what Ozpin and Veronica thought. They were probably shocked. Hopefully, they weren’t too disgusted. What if they now hated him? No, that was stupid. They wouldn’t hate him. Probably. 

No one would hate him for this. None of his friends at least. They weren’t the kind of idiots who blamed victims of these things. Probably. A small seed of doubt had planted itself in his chest, and Bartholomew knew that no amount of weed killer could remove it. 

His friends might hate him. Of course, if he lost the trial and was convicted as a murderer then they would probably hate him anyway. Did it really matter? 

The trial continued, Bartholomew doing his best to bury his pain. Right now was not the time. He could have a meltdown about this later. Right now, he needed to focus. It was going to be alright. 

Bartholomew took a shallow breath through his teeth and tuned in to what they were saying. 

“The body of Umber Delacrote was discovered outside the city border, in a body bag with two knives,” the prosecuting lawyer read out, “DNA tests have been performed on the body, to confirm the identity. It seems the victim dies of multiple slashes to the abdomen, neck, and chest,” 

But… Bartholomew only slit his neck. At least, that’s what he remembered. Maybe his knives had caused more damage than he thought when he flailed about? 

“Fingerprints matching those of Bartholomew Oobleck were found on the knives.” the lawyer continued. 

Bartholomew narrowed his eyes. They hadn’t used a body bag! And his knives were in his office, at beacon! What the lawyer was claiming wasn’t even possible! 

The lawyer brought out a plastic bag containing the knives and presented them to the Jury. 

Bartholomew wiped his eyes on his sleeve, trying to get a better look at the knives. He was definitely not crying. Not yet. His eyes were just a bit misty. 

Anyway, the knives… were definitely not his. They were the wrong shape and colour. In fact, they sort of looked like kitchen knives from where Bartholomew was sitting. They couldn’t be the real knives. It must be false evidence. 

This was bad. Very very bad. If they were making up evidence… Well, that explained the body at least. Although how you faked a dead body, Bartholomew didn’t know. 

Still, if they were making up evidence, who knows what could happen? This whole trial could be rigged!

And worst of all, Bartholomew couldn’t do anything! 

Next, they moved onto witnesses. 

The prosecution called up Taupe. Taupe, who had been there when they threw the body over the wall. Taupe, who knew the truth. 

Sure they had never been close friends, but Bartholomew and Taupe had gotten along. Taupe knew that he didn’t mean to kill Umber. Taupe knew! Taupe should know… 

He looked different from when Bartholomew last saw him. Slightly longer hair, heavier makeup. As he walked up to the front, Bartholomew noticed a tattoo on his neck. Oh. That was the symbol of the other gang. He must have joined them. 

That meant that Bartholomew could not rely on his story.

“It came as a great shock to me, when I got a phone call from Theo, saying that Barty had murdered someone,” Taupe stated, “And it was an even greater shock when I arrived at the scene. There was blood everywhere-” 

Well, that much was true at least. Bartholomew didn’t think he’d ever get it out of his memory. Red, red, so much red, red everywhere. Even during all his years as a huntsman, he’d never seen so much blood at once. 

“- And Barty, was standing there, knife in hand, laughing over how he’d killed Umber in cold blood,” 

What. The. Hell. 

That wasn’t even remotely true! He had been inconsolable at the time! He had spent the rest of that day crying, and had practically refused to talk for the rest of the week. He didn’t think he had laughed properly again until he arrived at Beacon! Why was Taupe making up such nonsense? 

More witnesses were called up. A lot of Umber’s former gang. 

They accused Bartholomew of threatening to kill them too if they got in his way. 

Again, complete nonsense. Some of them he’d never even spoken to! Bartholomew wasn’t exactly a fighter. He’d always stayed on his own turf, and if there was any trouble he relied on his older friends to sort it out. 

A lot of that was thanks to Theo really. Theo… Theo hadn’t wanted him to get too caught up the whole mess. Theo had worked so hard to give him the best chance at life, to be able to stay in school and eventually apply to Beacon. To get out of the slums of downtown Vale, and actually buy a house that wasn’t made of old scrap metal and leaning against the base of the train tracks. 

And now these people… they were going to ruin everything. Why? What did they have against him? If they wanted him dead, why not just send an assassin? 

Finally, finally, it was the defense’s turn. 

Arabelle and Cyan were each called up in turn. They told pretty much the same story; the true story. How distraught Bartholomew had been when they arrived at the scene, how they were sure it was an accident. 

But it wasn’t going to be enough. Even to him, it sounded like it was a cover story. Two witnesses against five. 

And the evidence… the description of the body made it sound like murder. 

This was so, so bad. 

But what could he do? There wasn’t anything… what if he confessed? If he told his story, from his point of view, surely the Jury would believe him? Right? Right? 

Okay. He would do it. He was strong enough. He was brave enough. He didn’t make it this far as a huntsman by being a coward. He could face up to his past. 

A few moments later he was deeply regretting that decision. Why did he think he could do this? This was much scarier than facing any horde of Grimm! 

Bartholomew felt his legs tremble slightly, as he looked onto the sea of faces. Okay, okay, deep breath. 

Look, there was Veronica and Ozpin. They looked worried. It was okay. He had already told them this story. He could just pretend he was telling them again. Right. Imagine they were the only ones here. 

Bartholomew launched into his story… the one that he had told all those years ago, sitting with his teammates in Beacon. 

And… his voice was wobbling. He was under a lot of stress. It was okay. He wasn’t crying at least. Oh… Oh. Yeah, no, there were a few tears on his cheeks. Whatever he should just get this over with. Explain. He didn’t want to kill, Umber, he never wanted to kill anyone. It was an accident. It was an accident! 

Once he sat back down, Bartholomew hid his face in his hands. Damn it! Damn everything! He had said he wouldn’t cry in court! 

At least it wasn’t being filmed or anything. Actually, wasn’t it illegal to have a camera in court? Bartholomew didn’t know, and right now he didn’t care. He just wanted to get a handle on his emotions. Damn! This was embarrassing! 

The lawyer nudged his arm. Oh. They were done. 

Now he just had to wait for the Jury to make up their minds. Deliberation. Who knew how long that would take?

Bartholomew couldn’t even look up at Ozpin and Veronica’s faces as he walked out. He wasn’t strong enough to handle that right now. 

A few minutes later he was sitting in a small room, with just a table and two chairs. His Lawyer came in and sat on the other side of the table. 

Bartholomew couldn’t decide if he liked this room better or worse than the courtroom. Maybe better. It may be small and empty, but at least there weren’t people staring at him. 

“I’m going, to be honest with you,” the lawyer said, “it’s not looking good,” 

Bartholomew nodded glumly. Inside his emotions were a raging ocean, a hurricane that hadn’t yet hit dry land, but he was ignoring it. A bit like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, only the sand was the real world. 

“Do you want to have a few minutes to yourself?” the lawyer asked kindly, “I can always come back later. You looked quite shocked in there when they-“ 

“It’s okay,” Bartholomew cut him off. He didn’t want him to say it. If he did then he might have another meltdown, and he didn’t want that to happen with anyone else around. His feelings would have to wait. “Could you get a message to Veronica or Ozpin for me?”

“Well, I’m afraid… “ the lawyer trailed off. 

“Just, tell them to check that my knives are still in my office. That’s where they should be. The knives that they found with my fingerprints can’t be the actual ones I used during the fight,” Bartholomew explained. 

The face of the lawyer was not a face that believed him. But it appeared the lawyer at least pitied him. “I’ll tell them,” the he said. 

After that, Bartholomew was taken to another room, this one barely more than a cell with a bed. And finally, finally, he was alone. 

He leant back on the wall, sinking to his knees. He leant his head back and closed his eyes. He took his glasses off and put them down beside him. 

His mind was a whirlwind. He had too many thoughts, too many feelings, about too many different things. 

Tears welled up in his eyes. Everyone knew! Everyone knew what Umber had done to him… Chances were it would be published in the newspaper. That reporter lady had certainly written enough down. He wouldn’t be able to walk down the street without people giving him pitying looks and whispering behind his back. 

Although, he may never walk down the street again at all. He was probably going to die. He was going to die. 

He was actually going to die. 

Bartholomew felt his breath hitch. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Tears soaked his face, as he sobbed into his arms. He was going to die! He was going to die! Everyone would think he was a murderer, and he was going to die! 

If only he could go back in time… and do what? Let Umber catch him, rape him again, and kill him? Call him selfish, but Bartholomew almost preferred this outcome. At least he had had a good life, made friends, become a hunter… At least he had managed to learn to be content, and happy even. He liked being a hunter, and a teacher. He liked knowing that he could save people’s lives, and teaching others to do the same. He liked working a Beacon, with all of his amazing friends and colleagues. 

But if he died, that would all end. They would all think of him as a victim and a murderer. Well, maybe not Ozpin and Veronica, but everyone else would. They were going to think that he had let them all down. They were going to be disappointed in him forever. 

Not that it would matter if he was dead. When he was dead. He was going to die alone. 

Bartholomew had always thought that he would die on the battlefield, fighting Grimm, maybe saving someone’s life. Or maybe of a heart attack, or cancer. People born in the outskirts of Vale didn’t exactly have the best life expectancy. It wasn’t like he had never done drugs (which he now severely regretted, but hey ho, he had been a stupid and very unhappy teenager) or smoked a cigarette. 

But he never thought that he would actually be executed. 

Sure, when he was a kid, and still racked with guilt over Umber’s death, he had entertained the possibility. But he never believed it in his heart. He had always thought that Theo would protect him. 

Well, that was one good thing. If… When he died, at least he would be with Theo. And Anya, come to think of it. If there was an afterlife at all that was. 

Oobleck wasn’t even sure what he thought about the afterlife. Sure, it was a comfort to think that Theo could still be up there, happy, somehow, but did he really believe it? 

And besides, the rest of his friends weren't dead! They were here, in Remnant! He didn’t want to say goodbye to them! He didn’t want to say goodbye to anyone! 

He hated saying goodbye to people. His friends had shaped him into who he was today. Theo had taught him how to love, Anya had taught him confidence, Ozpin had taught him kindness, Veronica had taught him it was ok to cry… Even Port had reminded him how to laugh. All these people meant so much to him, and he had let them all down. 

He was going to die and they were going to think him a murderer.


	3. Coincidences?

“This is hopeless!” Veronica yelled in frustration, slamming down the book she had been reading. “We both know that this isn’t going to help!” 

Ozpin gave her a sad look. They were both sitting on the floor of her room, going through law books. “Well, if you have a better idea…” he trailed off. 

Veronica sighed. “I don’t. I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m not a lawyer, and if the actual lawyer can’t find a loophole in the law, then I doubt that we will,” 

Ozpin put a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe we should call it a night.” 

Veronica shook her head. “I can’t - I can’t just give up! This may be useless, but it’s better than doing nothing,” 

“Veronica - “ 

“I’ve seen so many die - and yet it still hurts. It hurts so much. I can’t let Barty die yet!” Veronica continued, tearing up, “I can’t!” 

Ozpin gently put his arm around her. “It’s what keeps us human. The pain. It proves that we can still love. But it does hurt. I - I really didn’t think we would lose him so soon,” 

Veronica momentarily closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “Right. And we haven’t lost him yet. There’s still time,” She forced a smile.

Ozpin returned a sad smile. “Yes, there is still time,” 

… 

“Professor Lei?” Ruby walked up to Veronica. It was the end of Oobleck’s lesson that Veronica was covering. 

“Yes, Ruby?” Veronica replied, looking up to see the whole team RWBY standing there. 

“We were wondering if we could do anything to help?” Ruby asked. “It’s just we saw the paper -”

“- and we know that profes- Doctor Oobleck would never murder anyone,” Yang butted in. 

Veronica smiled sadly at the students. Of course, Oobleck was their mentor; he had been on missions with them. They would all be sad when - if - he died. She shook her head, “There really isn't anything you can do, apart from focusing on your studies. Try not to fall behind in history, I’m sure that’s all he’d want,” 

...

“What do you guys think?” Ruby asked, from atop her bed. 

“I mean, the papers do say that they have evidence,” Weiss pointed out. “Knives with fingerprints... and the body,” 

“But Oobleck? Really?” Yang said, turning over onto her stomach, “he’s so kind. As you guys have heard him talking on missions; he’s all about preserving human life. I think he’s been framed,” 

“I mean, by the sound of it, Umber was no big loss. I wouldn’t blame him if he did kill him,” Blake put in. “I know that I would at least consider it if I was… if someone did that to me,” 

There was silence for a moment. 

“That’s still not a reason to kill someone. Even as huntsmen and huntresses, we are not allowed to take human life, no matter the atrocities they’ve committed,” Weiss argued. 

“But he might not have even taken what’s-his-name’s life!” Yang exclaimed. 

“I mean, in this article it says he made a confession,” Blake scrolled through more information on her scroll, “but it doesn’t really sound like it was his fault,” 

“Is it still murder if it’s unintentional?” Ruby asked. 

“That’s even assuming that his confession is true. This paper says that one of the witnesses says it was deliberate,” Weiss retorted. 

“Really Weiss?” Yang groaned, “You’re not going to take professor Oobleck’s side?”

“Of course I’m on his side- I’m just looking at all the facts. You’re the one who’s jumping to conclusions” Weiss folded her arms. 

“Whatever Weiss,” Yang rolled over to face the wall. 

… 

Veronica sighed, taking a deep breath of the cemetery air. It was a nice burial ground, on the side of a hill, well away from any traffic. It was quite light and airy, blue sky as far as the eye could see and birds tweeting nearby. 

If it wasn’t a graveyard then Veronica thought it would make a good picnic spot. 

She wandered around, looking at the stones. Bartholomew wanted to be buried next to his brother. 

If he died. 

Veronica was just being practical. The next few weeks were going to be pretty hectic as it was, organising which students were staying for the Christmas break, as well as the end of term tests. She wasn’t going to have any free time if she had to help organise a funeral as well. 

Veronica took a shuddering breath. She didn’t want to think about it really. But she knew. She knew, in her heart that there really wasn’t much hope. What could one do against such concrete evidence? The trial had already ended. It was up to the Jury now. There was nothing left that they could do. 

Eventually, she found the grave she was looking for. “Theodore Oobleck,” it read. Right, this was where Bartholomew’s brother lay. 

Veronica placed some yellow flowers she had brought in front of the gravestone. It was odd, she pondered as she placed the flowers, if she didn’t know any better she would have thought that the grave had been freshly dug. The earth certainly looked loose enough. 

“I’m sorry” she mumbled out loud. “You asked us to protect him. And we’re doing our best, we really are… but it might not be enough.” 

Veronica sat down properly in front of the grave. 

“You’re gonna be so mad when he joins you in the afterlife. If he joins you I mean,” Veronica corrected herself. “At least there’s room for another grave next to yours,” 

She gently lifted her hand to the inscription. It read: Theodore Oobleck, year XXXX to XXXX. Death by heart attack. Fearsome leader and beloved brother. 

That wasn’t right. Theo had died in a gang fight, Veronica was sure. That’s what Barty had told her at least. Why would he lie about that? 

She stood up and realised that her knees were covered in mud. Great. The ground must be damper than she thought. 

…  
“Mrs. Lei?” a man in a red uniform ran up to Veronica. 

“Yes?” 

“Letter for you,” the man held out an envelope. Ah, he was a postman. That explained the uniform at least. 

Surprised, Veronica took it. “Thank you,” 

The man nodded and rushed away. 

As Veronica made her way to the front of the school, she opened to the letter. She frowned. Oh. It was from the Lawyer. Oh! Apparently, Bartholomew said that the evidence wasn’t possible. He wanted her to check on his knives in his office. That was interesting. 

Veronica checked her watch. She a good hour before her next lesson started. She had time to check Barty’s office. 

She quickly hurried in that direction, ignoring any passers-by giving her curious looks. Glynda might have a go at her for running in the halls and setting a bad example later, but that wasn’t important. What was important was that the evidence could be false. 

She skidded into Bartholomew’s office. Oh. What a mess! Granted, her own office wasn’t much better, but still. How was she going to find anything in here? 

The desk was covered in papers and old moldy cups of coffee. There were two spare ties hanging off the back of his chair. The filing cabinet was open at every layer, with more papers spilling out. There was even a pile of textbooks on the floor! 

Veronica skirted around the desk and opened the curtains and windows. Well, she would have to start somewhere. 

Half an hour later, she finally found the knives. They were in the bottom drawer of the desk, under a pile of homework that he must have collected last year. 

Now was the real question. How come the knives were here? Didn’t the prosecution claim to have knives with his fingerprints on? It couldn’t be these knives. And these were the knives that had actually killed Umber. Something wasn’t right. 

Veronica was about to leave when her eyes fell on a pile of letters she had discovered whilst searching for the knives. Of course, they were probably private, but they were addressed to Oobleck from Zam, one of the former gang members. And they looked quite old. It wasn’t really important, but surely they contained the details of how Theo had died. 

It wasn’t important Veronica told herself. Maybe she was misremembering. It was unlikely that the grave inscription was wrong. And it wasn’t important. Not worth searching through old letters to find out. 

Yeah, fuck that. Veronica didn’t have that much self-control, and she could always apologise to Bartholomew later. 

She scooped up the letters and quickly shuffled through them. Boring, boring, boring, personal… ah! Here we go! This letter was the one that had the details of Theo’s death. Veronica spread it out on the desk. It was very scrumpled, and there were tear stains all over it. Whether they were Zam’s or Barty’s tears, Veronica didn’t know. Right. This was actually quite a personal letter. In any case, it that the information that Veronica was looking for. Theo did die in a gang fight. The question was why on earth did his gravestone say he died of a heart attack? 

Well, that wasn’t important. What was important right now was to tell Ozpin about the knives. Something fishy was going on, and they needed to figure it out quickly. 

… 

Veronica had just left Bartholomew’s office when she noticed a shadow in the window. It was fleeting, maybe just a student scaling the wall, but it gave Veronica a sense of unease. As she left the hall, she stopped and turned at the last second. 

There it as again. Unmistakable. Was someone following her? 

Okay. No need to panic. She didn’t have her usual trident with her, but she wasn’t that bad at hand to hand combat. Maybe she should take it outside though. It would be easier to run away if things went south. 

Veronica slipped out of a side door into a courtyard. At least there weren’t any students around. They must be getting ready for their next classes or trying to get the last of the food from the cafeteria. 

Veronica walked into the middle of the courtyard and stopped. “I know you’re there,”

She heard a slight “poof” behind her, as someone landed on the ground. 

She turned. The person’s foot flew at her head. Veronica blocked with her arm and stared. The man was dressed all in black, from head to toe. He didn’t appear to be carrying a weapon, so perhaps he wasn't a hunter. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t dangerous though. 

The man attacked her again, this time going for a punch to the stomach. Veronica leapt out of the way and brought her fists down on his shoulder. The man grunted and kicked her in the stomach. 

Veronica flew back and landed on the ground. He was really strong. Maybe he had a super strength semblance? 

Suddenly, a small box on the belt of the man flashed red and beeped. He turned and ran. 

Veronica didn’t even bother trying to chase him. He had gone towards the woods, and even if she did find him she doubted if she could take him down. 

Still, what the hell was going on? Why was she just attacked? Who was he? 

As Veronica made her way back inside, she saw another one standing on the roof. Shit. The school was being watched. Talking to Ozpin now wasn’t going to do any good. Not whilst they were being spied upon. 

Veronica made her way to the staff bathrooms and locked herself in a cubicle. There were no windows so it would be impossible for them to watch her. Hopefully. If they could see into the bathroom somehow though, that was a different issue. 

Veronica took out her phone and sent a quick text to Ozpin, asking her to meet her in a local cafe after work. She knew the owners, Arabelle and Cyan, old friends of Oobleck. They would let Oz and her have a private table. 

… 

“Veronica!” Arabelle waved at her when she walked into the cafe. 

“Hey!” Veronica greeted Arabelle, kissing her on each cheek, “Long time no see,” 

“Table for one?” Arabelle asked. 

Veronica shook her head. “Two actually, Ozpin should be along in a minute. I was wondering if we could have a table somewhere… private?” 

Arabelle nodded. “Of course,” She led her to a back table, behind the counter and away from the general hubbub. Veronica was pleased to see that there weren’t any nearby windows. 

“Have you been able to talk to Barty?” Arabelle asked as she set two menus down. 

Veronica shook her head. “Not since they took him into custody,” 

Arabelle sighed. “That was awful, the trial. I spent most of the time wanting to either get up and slap Taupe and the rest of them, or give Barty a hug,” 

Veronica gently squeezed her arm. “Me too,” 

A few minutes later, Ozpin came along. 

He sat down and got straight to the point. “Is there a reason you wanted to meet me here?” 

Veronica nodded. “The school is being watched,” 

“I’m sorry?” Ozpin asked, leaning in closer. 

“By men dressed all in black. They even have the sock things over their faces - “ 

“- balaclava?” Oz interjected. 

Veronica nodded, “right. Those. I fought one outside the school, but he ran away. I don’t think they are hunters or huntresses though; they don’t seem to have any weapons,” 

“That is worrying,” Ozpin said. 

“There’s more,” Veronica continued, “I think that the evidence might be false,” 

Ozpin raised his eyebrows. 

“The knives. They showed us the knives with fingerprints as evidence right? Well, Barty’s knives are still in his office. I checked,” Veronica explained. 

“That is interesting. And rather worrisome,” Ozpin hummed. “Maybe we should go to the morgue. That’s where they’ve got all of the evidence right?” 

“Right,” 

… 

“I’m afraid that I can’t possibly let you in,” The morgue assistant said, fidgeting with the sleeve of her lab coat. 

“We won’t touch anything,” Veronica supplied. 

“I still can’t… look, the two of you should really go,” the assistant continued, glancing over their shoulder. 

Veronica glanced up at Ozpin, shrugging. He motioned for them to leave. 

“Did that feel, weird at all, to you?” Veronica asked once they had left the building. 

“Well, given that I counted at least five of those men completely in black, not really,” Ozpin replied. 

She stopped dead in your tracks. “What?” 

“You should probably duck,” Ozpin continued. 

She ducked and a foot swung over her head. Great. She was being attacked for the second time that day. 

And… there were five of them. Just as Ozpin had said. At least she had her trident she thought grimly, gripping it and pulling it forward over her head to block the attack of one of them. 

Then her muscle memory kicked in. Dodge. Duck. Hit. She was hyper-aware of the movement around her. Ozpin at her back, throwing up a shield when necessary to protect both of them. Two figures in front of her, coordinating their attacks so that she had to continuously block both, without being able to retaliate. One to the side, who she dodged as he lunged at her. Two in front of Ozpin, also coordinating their attacks. 

“Over and swap!” Ozpin called out the name of one of their combo moves. 

Veronica did a backflip, and Ozpin caught her hands, throwing her over his head. As she flew through the air, Veronica summoned a power deep inside of her. Just a little bit, she coaxed. As she brought the trident down to break her fall, sparks flew out, hitting the two men whom Ozpin had previously been fighting. 

They stumbled backwards, and their three allies covered them. Odd, that power should have been enough to knock them out, yet they seemed merely phased. 

At least Veronica and Ozpin weren’t surrounded anymore. 

Ozpin whacked one of them on the head with his cane, before grabbing the man and using him as a human shield. Another tried to attack Ozpin from behind, but Veronica saw him and slammed the side of her trident into his stomach. 

“Retreat!” the one that Ozpin had caught yelled, elbowing Ozpin in the stomach, and somehow managing to slip out of his grasp. 

All five of them disappeared almost instantaneously. 

“The hell!?” Veronica exclaimed, leaning her hands on her knees and panting. 

“It seems you were right about us being spied upon,” Ozpin said wryly. “We should go back the school; if we take a taxi maybe that will give us time to plan our next move,”


	4. Morgue

It was quite late in the day when Ruby got a message on her scroll saying that Veronica wanted to see her in her office. It was curious, Ruby was sure that she hadn’t done anything to get herself into trouble. 

“Professor Lei?” Ruby mumbled, nervously opening the door to Veronica’s office. “You wanted to see me?” 

“It’s Veronica when I’m not teaching - ” Veronica winked, and motioned for Ruby to sit down, “ - I just wanted to give this homework back to you,” Veronica slid a piece of paper across the table to Ruby. On it, she had written  _ We are being watched and can’t talk freely. If you want to help Oobleck, meet me at 8 o'clock this evening at the Black and Cyan cafe. If you don’t want to, let me know by leaving the door open when you leave this room. _

“Thank you, professor!” Ruby said, getting up, and closing the door behind her as she left. 

… 

Several hours later, Ruby sat down with Veronica at the local cafe. 

“The school is being watched?” Ruby asked. 

Veronica nodded. “It’s really strange. And the evidence for Bar- Doctor Oobleck’s case doesn’t add up. We need to take a look at it,” 

“What can I do to help?” Ruby asked. 

Veronica handed her a small earpiece. “I want you to sneak into the morgue with me,” 

“The morgue? Why?” Ruby asked, putting the earpiece on, and turning it on. 

_ “Is this working?” _ Ozpin’s voice crackled through their earpieces. 

“It’s working,” Veronica said. She then looked at Ruby, “We need to take a look at the evidence,” 

Ruby nodded. “Okay,” 

_ “Be careful, there are at least two men in black out the front of the cafe,” _ Ozpin said.  _ “You should probably try and leave out of the back,” _

Veronica and Ruby walked around the back of the café. 

_ “One moment,” _ Ozpin warned them  _ “There is one keeping watch out of the back as well. You’ll have to lose him before heading to the morgue,”  _

“Professor, how do you know?” Ruby asked quietly. 

_ “I’m watching the street through the local speeding cameras,”  _

Veronica gestured towards the door. She and Ruby walked out nonchalantly. 

 

_ “He’s seen you. Although he doesn’t seem too bothered,” Ozpin informed them, “Ah, wait, he is following you. He hasn’t called for backup though, _ ”  

“Why don’t we go and look at the new clothes in Battle gear for all occasions?” Veronica suggested to Ruby as they reached the main road. 

Ruby looked over at the store and grinned as Veronica winked at her. “I’d like that very much professor,” 

_ “He’s waiting outside the front,” _ Ozpin told them as they entered the shop. 

It was really huge, Ruby realised. She had never actually been in here before. It had at least two floors, with amazing clothes everywhere. She started to internally fangirl when she saw a T-shirt with an awesome weapon design on it. 

Veronica started to walk towards to the changing rooms. Right, they were on a mission. Ruby would have to come back to this shop another time. 

“You should pick something,” Veronica told her. 

Ruby squealed and ran over to get the T-shirt. 

_ “Please refrain from squealing into the comm Miss Rose,” _ Ozpin said. 

“Oh, sorry professor,” Ruby mumbled, picking up the top and leading Veronica into the changing room. 

Once they were in a changing room, Veronica stood on a bench and started to push at the ceiling panels. 

“I can’t actually buy the top,” Ruby realised sadly, as Veronica managed to push one of the ceiling panels out of the way. 

“You can come back and get it another time,” Veronica replied, hoisting herself up into the whole she had made, thanks to some beams inside the ceiling. 

She held out her hand to Ruby, and helped her up, before replacing the tile. 

It was dark inside the roofing, Ruby realised, but not so dark that they couldn’t see. 

“We have to be careful,” Veronica warned Ruby, “Only step on the beams. The ceiling tiles aren’t strong enough to hold our weight,” 

_ “According to these schematics, there should be an air vent leading to the roof from the back of the attic you’re in,” _ Ozpin said. 

Ruby squinted into the darkness. There was indeed a black square on the wall at the back of the room. She led the way over to it, carefully balancing on the ceiling beams that didn’t feel nearly as sturdy as Veronica seemed to think they were. 

At one point she nearly slipped, but Veronica steadied her with a hand to her back. 

“You ok?” Veronica asked. 

Ruby nodded. “Yeah. This isn’t as easy as it looks,” 

They kept going in silence until they finally reached the grating. 

“How are we going to get through?” Ruby asked. 

Veronica knelt down and took something out of her pocket. Ah, a screwdriver. That made things easier. It didn’t take long for Veronica to remove the grating. She gingerly handed it to Ruby. “Can you balance it on one of the beams?” 

Ruby nodded and gently placing it down behind them. 

_ “You may want to hurry,”  _ Ozpin suddenly said,  _ “Our friend in black is getting restless. I don’t think it will be long before he realises that something is up,”  _

Veronica climbed into the air vent, Ruby just behind her. It was a tight fit and even darker than the attic. They crawled along for about a minute before Veronica stopped. 

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked. 

“It goes straight up from here. It shouldn’t be too hard to climb, though,” came Veronica’s echo-ey reply. 

After a few moments of shuffling around later, Veronica disappeared up the shaft. 

“It’s okay,” she called down, “It’s only a few meters up and then it spits us out onto the roof,” 

Ruby quickly followed her. She scrabbled around in the shaft for a few moments, trying to get a foothold, before Veronica helped her onto the roof. 

“Whoa,” Ruby exclaimed. She hadn’t realised how high up they were. She could see the sparkling lights of Vale for miles. The city stretched out like a canopy, dull yet somehow beautiful in the late evening light. 

“How’s our friend in black doing Oz?” Veronica asked. 

_ “He’s definitely getting restless. He keeps checking his watch. You should probably move… Here, I’ve got a map. If you turn West, towards the communications tower, and travel about five blocks. Then you’ll need to turn south, which will be left, for about ten blocks. From there it will be on the other side of the road, so you’ll have a good vantage point,” _ Ozpin told them. 

“Can you get us onto the next block?” Veronica asked Ruby. 

It wasn’t far. A little over five meters. Too far to jump, but no too far with Ruby’s semblance. 

Ruby nodded and grabbed Veronica’s arm. In an instant, they were standing on the next roof. 

“Whoa,” Veronica panted, “you twist around a lot when you run,” 

Ruby giggled. “Sorry. I forgot some people don’t like going so fast. Pyrrha threw up the first time I took her with me,” 

“It’s not the speed. Gods know that Barty drags me around enough for me to be used to it. But you just… twist. Oh well, at least I can jump over the other gaps,” Veronica wheezed. 

“Barty?” Ruby asked. 

“Doctor Oobleck,” Veronica clarified. 

There was a moment of silence as they remembered why they were there. 

“Professor… Is Doctor Oobleck okay?” Ruby asked. 

Veronica looked at her sadly. “He will be, once we work out what the heck is going on,” 

Ruby nodded. 

They ran across the rooftops, jumping over the gaps, and it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Morgue. 

Veronica gestured for Ruby to lay down next to her, so she did. 

“Oz? We’re here,” Veronica mumbled. 

_ “Right. From what I can tell there are at least two of those men watching the front. They might be more but the camera doesn’t have good range,”  _ Ozpin explained. 

“There’s one!” Ruby pointed at the side of the building neighboring the morgue. She then got out Crescent Rose and used the viewfinder to survey the area. “I can see at least five” she whispered. 

“Mhm,” Veronica agreed. Veronica was using a pair of binoculars that must have been attached to her belt. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a sixth guard somewhere. Five of them attacked Oz and me earlier, so presumably, there is an extra one who stayed to watch the Morgue,” 

“Maybe they are behind the building?” Ruby suggested. 

Veronica nodded. “It’s a definite possibility,” 

“So how are we going to get in without being spotted?” Ruby asked. 

“One of us will cause a distraction, whilst the other rushed in through the front door,” Veronica explained. 

“Won’t it be locked?” Ruby asked. 

_ “The entire morgue is computer controlled,” _ Ozpin explained, _ “And I conveniently happen to know the passcode. The door is already unlocked,”  _

“Okay,” Veronica said, “Ruby, I’m going to climb down to the street. Once I’m there, I want you to cause a major distraction. Be sure to run away fast - although I doubt that will be a problem for you. If you get into trouble, just tell me and I’ll come and help,” 

Veronica rolled towards the side of the building, whilst Ruby readied her gun. As soon as Veronica was on the ground, Ruby shot at one of the men. Then, she was speeding over the edge of the roof, into a safe place to hide. 

“Abort - it didn’t work. Veronica, you need to hide!” Ruby heard through the comms. 

“What’s going on?” she asked. 

“It’s okay, I slid under a car,” Veronica explained. 

_ “The men didn’t fall for the diversion,” _ Ozpin added. 

“What will we do now?” Ruby asked. She crept towards the edge of the building and looked around. The guy whom she’d shot in the leg was being tended to by one of his team-mates, but the others were all still watching the morgue. 

“We’ll have to try again,” Veronica stated. “Second time lucky,” 

“What if I ran into the morgue instead?” Ruby asked. “Because of my super speed, the distraction won’t need to last as long,” 

There was a momentary silence. 

_ “It could work,” _ Ozpin said slowly,  _ “But… We wanted to check the DNA of the body. Are you sure you’re happy to collect some hair from a corpse Miss Rose?” _

Ruby thought about this for a moment. True, the idea of a dead body was chilling, but who knew what she’d have to someday face as a hunter? It was good preparation. And besides, She wanted to help, didn’t she? 

“It’s fine,” Ruby decided, “Just tell me what to do when I get in there,” 

Ruby watched, waiting for a good moment to dart into the morgue, whilst Veronica climbed out from under the car. 

“Right, you got me!” Veronica yelled, putting her hands up in the air. “I just want to talk right?” 

The four uninjured men walked towards her, adopting a fighting stance. The guy with a bullet in his leg was lying down so he wouldn't be able to see what was happening. 

“Oh come on,” Veronica sighed, reaching for the trident on her back. “I said talk, not fight,”

One of the men in black ran at her, aiming to punch her in the face. Veronica ducked, barely getting out of the way. 

“Go!” Veronica hissed into the comm, as she dodged another strike. 

Ruby fled towards a car on the road, ducking behind it. She then used her semblance again, to get to the door, giving the fighters a wide berth. 

Once inside, Ruby took a deep breath, leaning against the closed door. 

_ “ _ I’m in,” she told Ozpin. 

_ “Right,” _ he replied. _ “I’ve got the schematics here. There are two main rooms, up the hallways on your right and left. They contain most of the bodies. Each of them has a small office attached. That might be where the knives are. You are looking for a body named Umber Delacrote. Be careful,”  _

Ruby took out her scroll and used the built-in flashlight to light up the corridor. It actually didn’t look too bad. There were a few paintings on the white walls, and the low hanging lights that looked like they might fall off the ceiling weren’t really that creepy. At least the whole place was clean. Extremely clean. Hospital-level clean in fact. Although that made sense since this was one of the places people might come after they left the Hospital. 

With that morbid thought, Ruby made her way up the passage. Her footsteps seemed to echo all around her, even though she was stepping as lightly as she could. 

She soon came to the two doors that Ozpin had told her about. They had paper lists taped onto them. 

Ruby shone her scroll torch on them. Ah, a list of bodies in the room. That made things easier. 

Umber Delacrote… he was in the room on the right. 

Ruby gently opened the door, and it squeaked horribly. It was so dark in there, Ruby couldn’t see anything at all, even with the light of her scroll. 

But there were bodies. Dead bodies. Ruby shuddered slightly. It was okay. They were just… a bunch of dead cells. Mostly made of carbon. Nothing to worry about. 

_ “You can turn the light on.” _ Ozpin’s voice made Ruby jump. _ “There should be a switch on the right, behind the door,”  _

Ruby quickly located the switch and turned the lights on. 

The whole room lit up. 

Ruby wasn’t sure if it made it better. No. It was okay. The light did make it better, even if she could now see the body bags. And even if it now looked like an evil lab. Even if the shadows in the hallway seemed so much darker. It was better. It was better with light because it meant that Ruby could do her job. 

_ “Look around for a counter,” _ Ozpin instructed, _ “Then you’ll need to put on some dispensable gloves,”  _

Ruby walked over to a side and grabbed a pair of disposable gloves from a box. “Done,” she mumbled, trying not to let her voice waver. 

It obviously didn’t work. _ “Ruby, it’s alright. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. They are just the vessels of those who have moved on,” _ Ozpin said kindly. 

Ruby swallowed. “Right,” 

_ “Now find a container of some kind,” _ Ozpin told her. 

“Will a plastic box do?” Ruby asked, picking one up. 

_ “Yes, that’s fine. Now you need to locate Umber’s body,” _ Ozpin said. 

Ruby looked around. There were at least twenty bags she was going to have to check the name tags of. 

“Professor… could you please keep talking? It’s easier that way,” Ruby said quietly. 

_ “Of course Ruby,”  _ Ozpin replied gently, _ “Did you know that I am hiding under Veronica’s bed right now? I needed to find somewhere where I couldn’t be seen, and my room doesn’t have very good reception- ”  _

As Ozpin idly talked, Ruby quickly checked the name tags on the body bags.

_ “- In fact there’s a lot of junk under here. Old dresses - a small box that… oh,”  _

“Professor?” Ruby asked. 

_ “Ah, it’s nothing. I just found a present I gave Veronica a long time ago - I didn’t know she’d kept it,” _ Ozpin explained. 

A few more body bags later, Ruby found the one that she was looking for. 

“I’ve found it,” she squeaked. 

_ “Right.” _ Ozpin stopped rambling.  _ “Now you need to open it, take some hair from the head, and put it in the box,”  _

Ruby gulped, and slowly unzipped the top of the bag. She almost gagged at the smell. Ice dust could only go so far when it came to preserving a body. 

It was odd. Ruby wasn’t an expert in dead bodies, but she would have thought that it would look more… decayed? Like, practically a skeleton. He did die what, twenty-five years ago? 

Not that it wasn’t in an awful state, completely covered in what looked like earth. 

Ruby took a fistful of what once must have been green hair, and stuck it in the box. 

She then quickly closed the lid and stuck it on her belt. She also zipped up the body bag and made her way over to the bin to dispose of the gloves. 

“Done,” she mumbled. 

_ “Well done Ruby. That’s the worst of it over. Now can you see the office at the end of the room?” _ Ozpin asked. 

“Mhm,” Ruby replied. 

_ “I want you to walk over to it -” _ the door clanked  _ “- I’ve just unlocked it. You’re looking for a pair of knives in a plastic bag. Once you’ve found them, take a photo on your scroll, then we’ll concentrate on getting you out of there,” _ Ozpin said. 

Ruby crept into the dark office, and once again lit it with her scroll torch. 

The shadows behind the desk seemed to creep back as if waiting for a good moment to strike. Ruby gulped. 

There were a lot of plastic bags on the counter, but luckily they were all labeled. It took Ruby less than a minute to locate the bag she wanted. 

She quickly snapped a photo with her scroll and sent it to Ozpin. 

She heard him snort over the comms. 

_ “Those look like knives from the staff kitchen- I’ll bet we’re missing two,”  _ He quickly explained. 

Just then, Ruby heard a door bang somewhere in the building. She jumped and suppressed a screech. 

_ “Is something wrong?” _ Ozpin asked. 

“I think there’s someone here,” Ruby whispered back. 

_ “Quick, hide!” _ Ozpin instructed. Ruby heard him tapping on a computer as she ducked below the desk. _ “The front door has just been opened. Veronica, have any of the men snuck away?”  _

Veronica grunted. _ “Nope -” _ there was another grunt,  _ “I’m almost out of aura though. It would be useful if you could try and get out of there -”  _ there was a pause  _ “as fast as you can Ruby!” _

Ruby nodded, before realising that she couldn’t be seen, and mumbled: “of course,”. 

_ “This must be our sixth friend who we couldn’t find earlier then,”  _ Ozpin concluded.  _ “You need to be extra careful,” _

The door of the outer room squeaked open. 

The man who had opened it froze, momentarily blinded by the light. He was dressed in black, just like all of the others. 

He started to walk towards to office. Ruby swallowed. She had left the door open. 

Ruby quickly considered her options; sneaking around him wasn’t really possible, so she would have to fight. Fighting was better in the main room because she would have more room to wield Crescent Rose. So, she needed to get out of the office. 

Ruby flew at the man, swinging out Crescent Rose. He saw her and ducked. Ruby stumbled slightly, with the extra momentum. The man turned and kicked her, sending her flying. 

Ruby grunted. “I’m not going down that easily,”

_ “Ruby? Are you okay? What’s happening?” _ Ozpin asked. 

“I’m just going to teach our friend here a little lesson,” Ruby said, trying to cover up the waver in her voice. She was strong. She could do this. 

_ “Ruby, they are very dangerous. Much more dangerous than any Grimm. You shouldn’t engage if you can avoid it. Is there a way for you to escape?”  _ Ozpin said worriedly. 

Ruby looked to her left. The door wasn’t far away. 

At that moment the man in black lunged at her, and Ruby had to dodge. Aw, dang it! Now the man was between her and the door. 

Ruby flew into her semblance to try and get an attack on the guy. This time Crescent Rose hit him… but he didn’t even flinch. She might as well have hit him with a stick. 

“You’re strong,” Ruby told him. 

His face shifted slightly, into what could have been a smile, but the balaclava made it impossible to tell. 

_ “But you’re not as fast as me!” _ Ruby yelled, closing Crescent Rose and diving between the man’s legs. She had already activated her semblance and was out of the room before he could even turn around. 

Ruby raced down the hallway and out of the door. 

She barged onto the road just in time to see Veronica get punched squarely in the stomach and go flying back into a brick wall. 

_ “Go and take the evidence to Ozpin whilst they’re still distracted,”  _ Veronica hissed, wincing as she stood up. 

“But-” Ruby started to protest. 

_ “Go!” _ Veronica ordered, throwing herself back into the fight,  _ “I’ll catch up later!” _

Ruby once again activated her semblance and raced up the road. She allowed herself to stop and pant for a few minutes once she was a few roads away. Ah, she must be running low on aura. Ruby checked. Oh, she was in the red zone. That’s what came of using one’s semblance near-constantly. 

She looked around for another way to get back to Beacon and noticed a bus pulling up at a stop only a little bit further down the road. 

Using the last of her energy, Ruby sprinted towards it and hopped on just before it left. 

… 

At first, Ozpin hadn’t realised how cramped it would be under Veronica’s bed. But after lying there with a laptop and two large scrolls for well over two hours it was starting to feel a little tight. 

He really wanted to climb out from under there and stretch his legs, but he couldn’t risk it. What if Veronica or Ruby needed him? 

Not that there was much he could do to help from here. Veronica was probably being beaten up by those men right now, and there was nothing he could do. Why on earth hadn’t he gone with them? 

Well, because they needed someone to watch cameras and open doors, he knew. It would have been very difficult to include any more people without it seeming suspicious. 

The only reason that had decided to include Ruby, and not say, Glynda, was because of Ruby’s super speed. She would be able to get away quickly after causing a distraction. Not that that had gone to plan. Ozpin really hoped she wasn’t too bothered by the dead bodies. No one her age should have to see that. 

Suddenly, Ozpin heard a creak. He turned to look at the floor beyond the bed. Two feet appeared, landing from the direction of the window. They were clad in black. 

Oh dear. They must have gotten suspicious because of how much time he spent under the bed. The feet moved towards the cupboard. They went all the way to the corner, hiding in the shadows. 

Ah. Maybe he thought that Ozpin had somehow moved away from under the bed without him noticing? 

Ozpin lightly shut the laptop and turned off the two scrolls. Thank goodness they were on silent and didn’t click. 

He then slowly activated his magic. He used it to camouflage himself against the ground. Then, ever so slowly, he rolled out from the right side of the bed. 

Good. The man in black hadn’t noticed. Singing a slight spell in his head, Ozpin made himself completely invisible. It felt so good to use his magic properly again! 

Quickly now, since this spell would only last a few seconds, Ozpin stood up and jumped behind a curtain. 

If the man in black noticed anything, he didn’t show it. 

Ozpin stood behind the curtain for a few seconds, wondering what to do next, when the was a knock on the door. 

Oh dear. That must be Ruby. 

“Professor?” Ruby’s voice rang out from the other side of the door. Drat. This could end very badly. 

To Ozpin’s surprise, the man in black moved towards the door and opened it slowly. 

Ruby walked into the room, unaware of the danger. 

The man in black tried to leap at Ruby. At the same moment, Ozpin leapt forward and punched sad man. 

With an “erh?” and a scream of surprise from Ruby, the man tumbled onto the floor. 

Ozpin tackled him before he could get back up. 

“Get Glynda!” he yelled, as the man in black threw Ozpin off. 

Ruby fled from the room. 

Ozpin quickly got up. This man was strong and not a threat to be taken lightly. 

The man darted to the right, and Ozpin decided to cheat. Well, it wasn’t really cheating if the fight wasn’t fair to begin with, was it?  

As Ozpin used his magic to enhance his speed, he murmured a fire spell. Fire had never been his forte in magic, it preferred more aggressive personalities, but he was proficient enough for this. 

The man’s hair started to smoulder. The man cursed loudly and tried to use his hand to put it out. 

Ozpin used the distraction to tackle the man again. 

It was like running into a brick wall. This man must have some sort of super-strength semblance… maybe it was the same one that attacked Veronica earlier today? 

That or maybe his clothes had some sort of strength enhancing ability. They were certainly fireproof - his balaclava should be on fire by now. That or he just really was that bad at fire-magic. 

Suddenly, ropes from the curtains flew through the air and tied up the man in black. 

Ozpin breathed a sigh of relief. Glynda was here. Finally. 

He climbed off the now writhing man and looked around. 

Glynda was in her pajamas, hair down, and no glasses. Ah, she must have just gone to bed. 

“What is the meaning of this?” she thundered. 

“I think that’s something I’d quite like to know too,” Ozpin sais, reaching out to the guy's balaclava, and pulling it off. He was pleased to see that a lot of the man’s hair looked burnt. 

He was a pale man, with a square face and a roughly shaven beard. Not the face you would associate with someone so strong, or so deadly. 

“Glynda, please call the police,” Ozpin muttered, roughly grabbing the man by the ropes. “Ruby, let’s take him downstairs. I’m sure there’s an old classroom we can lock him in until the police get here,” 

…

The police turned up barely an hour later, with Veronica and three of the men in black in toe. 

“Someone saw the fight and called the police,” Veronica explained, as Ozpin helped her out of the car. Considering that it had been five against one, she didn’t look too bad. Her arm was in a sling, and she had a black eye, but that was it. Nothing a night of sleep wouldn’t fix. “Made it much easier. They’ll take this one in for questioning as well,” 

“You should probably go to bed, Miss Rose,” Ozpin said, turning to Ruby, “It’s been a long night,”

“But what about the-” Ruby started. 

“Why don’t you drop by my office tomorrow morning,” Ozpin cut her off. 

Veronica gestured towards the police with her head. Ah. Right. The police didn’t know that they had broken into the morgue. Probably better that way. 

“Yes Professor,” Ruby said. 

“And Ruby?” professor Ozpin added, just as Ruby turned to leave. 

“Yes?” 

“Thank you,” 

… 


	5. Conclusion

Ruby knocked on the door of science lab 1, at around nine o’clock the next morning. 

“Come in,” Ozpin told her. 

Ruby walked in. Woah, Ozpin looked tired. He probably hadn’t slept all night. 

“Have you found anything?” Ruby asked. 

Ozpin shook his head. “Nothing useful. The men we apprehended have refused to talk, and I haven’t gotten anywhere with the DNA,” 

“So we did all of that for nothing?” Ruby deflated a little. 

“Oh no,” Ozpin turned the green of the monitor he was looking towards ruby. It had a large loading bar, that was almost complete, on it. “As soon as I just need this analysis of the DNA database to finish,” 

“What will that do?” Ruby asked. 

“It should tell us who the body actually belonged to,” Ozpin explained. 

“There’s a database with the DNA of everyone in Remnant?” Ruby squeaked. 

“Well no,” Ozpin looked slightly sheepish, “It’s got most of Atlas and anyone employed by the government or in the civil service here in Vale,” 

“So it might not have the evidence we need?” Ruby asked sadly. 

“It’s the best we’ve got,” Ozpin replied. “It would be easier if I had some of Umber’s DNA, then I could just disprove the body as his, but there doesn’t seem to be any record of it. In fact, I’m rather curious as to how they proved the body to be his in the first place,” 

“Maybe they just made it up,” Ruby suggested, sitting on a table. 

“Mhm, maybe,” Ozpin replied. 

That sat there for a few minutes. 

“Don’t you have places to be?” Ozpin asked Ruby, “it is a Saturday morning after all,” 

Ruby shook her head. “I don’t have any plans for today… and I want to make sure Prof- Doctor Oobleck is okay,”

Ozpin smiled at her. “That’s very kind of you Ruby,” 

“When does the trial resume?” Ruby asked. 

Ozpin checked the time. “I’m about an hour. Veronica is probably on her way there already. As soon as I’ve got the evidence I need, I’ll go too,” 

Ruby nodded. Then she got out some homework and proceeded to work in silence. 

Forty minutes later, she looked up. “Isn’t It done yet?” 

Ozpin was tapping his fingers on the desk. “Almost, almost… I really need to go now if I want to get there in time,” 

“How far is it?” Ruby asked. 

“About five kilometres,” Ozpin replied. 

“That’s… not too far. I could use my semblance to get you there faster,” Ruby offered. 

Ozpin looked at her in surprise. “You could travel five kilometres at once?” 

Ruby nodded. “It would use up all my aura, but it’s doable,” 

Ozpin bit his lip, thinking about it for a moment. “Okay, that would really help actually,” he agreed. 

Five minutes later, and the computer finally finished the analysis. 

“Who’s DNA does it match?” Ruby asked excitedly, jumping up. 

“Doctor Oobleck’s…” Ozpin said slowly. 

Ruby stopped in her tracks. “What?! How?” 

“Hm,” Ozpin typed on the computer for a few moments. “Right, it’s not a perfect match. That must mean… it’s Oobleck’s brother, Theodore,” 

Ruby gasped. “They killed Doctor Oobleck’s brother?” 

“No, no, he’s been dead for a few years. They must have taken his body from the grave,” Ozpin explained, “Well this is certainly a discovery, and definitely useful. Doctor Oobleck’s lawyer can call for a mistrial - basically, that would cancel the trial due to false evidence - this is brilliant in fact,” 

“Yeah!” Ruby punched the air, “Doctor Oobleck is going to be free!” 

Just then, Ozpin’s scroll rang. He picked it up. “Veronica? - Yes- Right- the evidence is false- oh- we’re on our way,” 

“What’s the matter?” Ruby asked.

“They’ve started the trial early,” Ozpin said. 

“Then we have to go!” Ruby exclaimed. 

Ozpin quickly backed up the data he had found in a USB key. Then Ruby grabbed his arm, and they whirled into her semblance. 

In less than a few seconds they were already out of the school.

“Which way?” Ruby asked. 

Ozpin shook his head, trying to get his bearings. “Uh- left. It’s on Lothebury road - you know the road behind the theatre?”

“Yeah, I know the place!” Ruby grabbed Ozpin’s arm again and reactivated her semblance. 

It lasted for much longer this time, speeding through the streets and whirling around corners. 

Ozpin was glad that this reincarnation had a strong stomach. 

Finally, they burst through the doors of the courtroom. Of course, it would be impossible not to have a dramatic entrance, Ozpin thought wryly. 

And now everyone was staring at them, of course. 

“New evidence!” Ruby yelled. 

No, no, Miss Rose, you shouldn’t yell in court. Ozpin internally facepalmed. 

Still, it had a good effect. Murmurs rippled through the room like waves in a pond. 

One of the men on the prosecution side stood up and opened their mouth as if to yell at Ruby, but his lawyer patted him on the shoulder to calm him down. 

The judge at the end of the hall quickly gave Ruby a verbal warning. 

Oh well, Ozpin quickly went to confer with Oobleck’s lawyer and tell him what he had found. 

It was strange, the lawyer had seemed fairly useless yesterday. Ozpin has known him for years and knew that he could do a better job than that. He felt bad for recommending someone so rubbish to Oobleck. Surely a good lawyer would have double checked the DNA test? What was going on with him?  

Ozpin shook his head. Oh well, time for him to take the lead. 

“If we may re-examine the report on the bodie’s DNA, your grace, we may find something interesting,” Ozpin commenced. 

The judge nodded. 

The lawyer on the prosecution’s side looked stricken. “I’m sure that’s quite unnecessary-” he started. 

“I want to hear this,” the judge declared. 

Ozpin walked over and took the report, flicking it open. He quickly scanned it. 

“This report is signed by a Doctor C. Inga,” Ozpin started, “however Doctor C. Inga passed away last month. It was in the news,” 

The judge raised his eyebrows. There was a gasp from the Jury. 

“Furthermore,” Ozpin flicked through the report and took out a picture. “This photo represents the chromosomes of the body,” 

Ozpin flicked through the file some more. “And this photo represents the chromosomes of Umber Delacrote. However, if we compare the two photos side by side,” 

Ozpin slid them under the document presenter. They were projected onto a big screen. 

“It is clear to see that it is, in fact, the same photo. The chromosomes are in the exact same position, and the number at the bottom of the photo is the same,” 

There were more gasps. 

“So either, they are both from the DNA of Umber, or both from the DNA of the body,” Ozpin concluded. 

“Objection,” the prosecutor said, standing up, “this is but a simple mistake. The report is still conclusive,” 

The judge nodded at Ozpin to continue. 

“I agree,” Ozpin said, “However that is not all that was found. Is it not the law that both parties in court may examine the evidence, is it not?” 

Everyone in the room nodded. 

Ozpin flourished his USB key. “Here I have some more evidence,” 

He plugged the USB key into the projector. Up came a photo of the same chromosomes, again. 

“Although this is a different picture, these are the same chromosomes,” Ozpin explained. “Therefore it can be included that the original pictures were of Chromosomes taken for the body. And if we cross check this with the DNA of Doctor Oobleck… “ 

General chatter broke out in the room as Ozpin showed a screenshot from his computer with a report on the match of DNA. 

“Of course, this isn’t possible,” Ozpin continued, “but what is possible is that it’s the DNA of a close relative. In fact, I suggest that the body now currently in the morgue is none other than Theodore Oobleck,” 

Yep, now the court was in slight chaos. Oh well, this should be fun. 

… 

Four hours later, and Bartholomew was free. 

Ozpin slipped his arm around him as they left the courtroom. “You okay?” Ozpin murmured. 

Bartholomew nodded. But he was still trembling slightly. He couldn’t quite believe that he was free. He was free! This morning he thought that he was going to die, and now he was free! He felt his eyes well up with tears. Ozpin gently hugged him. Veronica put and hand on his shoulder, and rubbed his arm gently. “Thank you,” he whispered, before pulling away. 

They walked out into the mid-afternoon sunlight. 

And were promptly surrounded by reporters. 

“Is it true that the evidence was faked?” 

“How do you feel knowing that you’re free?” 

“What was it like to be arrested?” 

“Was your confession true?” 

“Did you know that they were going to say you were raped as motivation?” 

Bartholomew felt himself start to shake again. Ozpin steadied him. 

“We won’t be answering any questions today,” Ozpin stated. 

That didn’t help. The press kept pressing in on them. Then Veronica snapped. “Just fuck off already! We’re really tired!” she yelled. There was a momentary lapse in noise. “Look, I broke my arm yesterday, so I don’t want to break it again, but if it means socking one of you in the face then it will be worth it! If you want a story why don’t you fuck off to the library?” 

The people around them parted a bit, no one eager to get punched in the face by a huntsman. 

They walked through the crowd and climbed into a waiting taxi. 

“You really shouldn’t have done that,” Ozpin said, “They could charge you with threatening to assault them,” 

“They were harassing us,” Veronica grumbled. 

Bartholomew giggled. Ozpin and Veronica looked at him. “Their faces,” he explained, “when you told them to go to a library,” 

Veronica cracked a grin. “That was pretty good wasn’t it?” 

Ozpin merely rolled his eyes. 

… 

“Hot chocolate?” Ozpin offered. 

Bartholomew nodded and took a mug from Ozpin’s hands. He was sitting on the end of Veronica’s bed, looking at some interesting historical artefacts that she had dug up to show him. 

“And this is Ozpin’s sword from the Vacuo campaign,” Veronica gently unwrapped it. 

Bartholomew’s eyes lit up. He set the hot chocolate down on the chest and the end of the bed, and took the sword.”Do you know how much this is worth?” Bartholomew whispered, swinging it gently. 

“It’s just a sword,” Ozpin commented, sitting down next to Veronica. 

“The sword of the greatest king who ever lived!” Bartholomew exclaimed. 

Ozpin snorted. “I’d hardly call myself the greatest king who ever lived,” 

“Well maybe you wouldn’t but most of us would,” Veronica muttered under breath. 

They put the sword away and got the next thing out from under Veronica’s bed. 

It was an old tea-set, made in Mistral, 400 years prior. 

The evening went on like that. Veronica didn’t usually like showing other people her stuff, but Bartholomew really needed cheering up. And it made her happy to see him geeking out over historical artifacts. 

Eventually, they had looked through all of them, and they just sat around chatting. 

“I suppose I should look at the news,” Bartholomew said eventually, staring down at his now empty mug of hot chocolate. 

“What? Why?” Veronica asked. 

“I ought to find out exactly what they reported,” Bartholomew mumbled, “to be prepared. Know how much people know about my biggest secret,” 

“Barty…” Veronica started gently. 

“It’s okay,” Bartholomew mumbled, placing his mug back on the chest at the end of the bed, and hugging himself. He sniffed, and wiped one of his eyes on his sleeve, knocking his glasses askew. He just took them off, and put them down beside his mug. “I know some people won’t even believe it, and others will hate me for it. It’s better if I know exactly what the news says, that way I’ll have a better idea as what to expect,” 

“Hug?” Veronica offered. 

Bartholomew nodded. 

Veronica flung herself at him. “We love you Barty, and we believe what you said. Nothing will ever change that,” 

Barty felt tears well up in his eyes, and he hid his face in Veronica’s shoulder, sobbing softly. 

Ozpin came over and also wrapped his arms around Bartholomew, offering additional support. “I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. And at fourteen as well. It’s one of the worst things that can happen to a person,” 

“I just-“ Bartholomew choked, “It was so unexpected- I thought no one knew- I never told anyone-“ 

“You didn’t know that they were going to bring that up in court?” Veronica asked worriedly, gently rubbing his back in soothing circle motions. 

“No! I had no idea!” Barty sobbed back. 

Veronica and Ozpin shared a worried look. That wasn’t right. The lawyer should have told him. 

“I’m so so sorry,” Ozpin mumbled. “The lawyer should have told you beforehand. I’ll follow that up later to see why he didn’t. I thought he was a good lawyer, but I’m sorry he did such a bad job,” 

“It’s okay,” Barty sniffled, “it was a difficult case. I’m sure he did his best,” 

“It’s really not,” Veronica replied, “having trauma brought up without warning… I understand why you looked so shocked in the courtroom now,” 

“It’s not trauma,” Bartholomew argued, “it’s just a horrible thing that happened,” 

Ozpin sighed. “Barty, rape is traumatic. There’s no getting away from it. It’s horrible, it destroys your self confidence and makes you feel like shit, convinces you that it’s shameful...” 

“You… you understand?” Bartholomew said surprised. 

“When you’ve lived as long as I have, certain things are… bound to happen,” Ozpin said in way of an explanation. 

“I’m… so sorry Oz,” Bartholomew mumbled. 

Ozpin hummed in reply. “Just know, you’re not alone in this,” 

Bartholomew nodded. 

“And if you ever need to talk, you know where to find us,” Veronica added. 

“Thank you guys,” Bartholomew mumbled. 

They sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the group hug. 

“You know, I really thought that I was going to die there for a minute,” Bartholomew started. 

“So did… so did we,” Ozpin murmured. 

… 

“Ruby! There’s a package for you!” Yang said as Ruby walked into their shared room. 

“Ooh!” Ruby clapped her hands in excitement. She picked it up from her bed. 

It wasn’t a large package, square and flat, and wrapped in brown paper. She opened it and squealed. 

“It’s the T-shirt I wanted!” Ruby exclaimed happily. 

“Who’s It from?” Yang asked. 

Ruby picked up a note that had fallen onto the floor. “It just says  _ Thank you _ ,” 

“Oh, who cares, try it on!” 


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yass! I've posted all of it! I love this story so much!

“Reeds,” Ozpin greeted, walking into the apartment. 

“Ozpin!” The lawyer jumped up surprised. He was a fairly short fellow, and quite portly. He was still wearing his suit, and had obviously only just come back from the office. 

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” Ozpin said. 

“Y-Yes?” Reeds stated, trying to sound authoritative, “about what?” 

“I recommended you to my one of my close friends, because you’ve always done very good work in the past, but it seems you were a bit neglectful if his case,” Ozpin continued. 

“Oh- um,” the man mopped his brow. 

“Is there something you’d like to tell me, Reeds?” Ozpin asked.  

“You’d better sit down,” Reeds motioned to the dining table. 

Ozpin and Reeds sat down. 

“Now, would you like to explain to me, why you didn’t tell Doctor Oobleck about the evidence beforehand?” Ozpin demanded. 

“Uh-“ more sweat trickled down Reeds’ brow. 

“-Don’t try and text under the table Reeds,” Ozpin said, “I’m a teacher - I can tell,” 

“Oh- I wasn’t-“ Reeds began.

“Why don’t you just give me your scroll?” Ozpin suggested.

Reeds looked like he might have protested, but quailed under Ozpin’s glare. He meekly placed the phone on the table. 

Ozpin took it, and looked at it curiously. “Who is this _unknown_ person you were about to text?” 

Reeds kept his mouth firmly shut. 

Ozpin raised one eyebrow. “You don’t want to mess with me Reeds - you know who I am,” 

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you everything,” Reeds exclaimed, showing his empty hands. 

Ozpin blinked. 

“Right. Um- where to start?” Reeds fumbled. 

“Maybe at the beginning?” Ozpin suggested, voice completely serious. 

“Well, just after I got the call about - um- Doctor Oobleck - this woman visited me,” Reeds started. 

“A rare occurrence I am sure,” Ozpin muttered. 

Reeds laughed feebly. “Ye-yeah, very rare. Anyway, she’s uh, powerful. Very powerful. Not a huntress but easily on par with one,” 

Ozpin sighed. “I don’t suppose she has long black hair and fire powers?” 

“Why yes, how did you know?” Reeds looked surprised. 

“She’s a wanted criminal,” Ozpin explained. 

“Oh,” Reeds mumbled, “well, uh, you see, so um, she wanted me to do a really bad job on the case on purpose…” 

“And you listened?” Ozpin asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“Well, you know, I didn’t exactly have much choice! She’s powerful, Oz, really powerful! She wasn’t asking for much! And my life was on the line!” Reeds exclaimed. 

“Your client - my best friend - a hunter who has the potential to save hundreds of lives - his life was on the line! Did that occur to you?” Ozpin thundered, standing up. 

Reeds coward into his chair. 

Ozpin sighed and sat down. “Did it not occur to you to go to the police?” 

“What could they have done? I told you Ozpin! She’s powerful! Really powerful!” Reeds exclaimed. 

“The police,” Ozpin states, “could have called a group of huntsmen to deal with her,” 

Reeds looked at the floor. “They could have been to late - she could have killed me,” 

“And Doctor Oobleck could have died!” Ozpin yelled. 

“But he didn’t!” Reeds protested. “I held up my end of the bargain and Oobleck still went free!” 

“Do you really think that this lady you speak of is going to care that you did as you were told?” Ozpin asked, “you lost the case,” 

Reeds looked back down at the floor. “She seemed honourable,” 

Ozpin snorted. “And there’s honour in framing a man?” 

An uncomfortable silence resides in the room. 

“Look, here’s what we’re going to do-“ Ozpin said, “I’m going to take you to the police station-“

Reeds started to protest. 

“And you’re going to admit everything to them,” 

“But I’ll lose my job! I’ll never have another case again!” Reeds exclaimed. 

“No, but you will get protection as a prisoner,” Ozpin pointed out. “The lady probably won’t bother to go to the trouble of killing you,” 

Reeds let out a feeble noise that could have been a bleat of fear. 

… 


End file.
